PRESS STATEMENT: Computer Virus File Sharing Alert

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/03/05

All users of the Internet should be aware of a file-sharing virus that has spread with alarming consequences in the last four hours. Called “RUFFCUT”, the file spreads across file-sharing sites by scanning a user’s preferences and masking itself as something they would most want to download. Its aim is to secure the most number of simultaneous connections, and the virus has a catastrophic payload.

“To say that this is deadly wouldn’t be going too far,” said Lt D Judd, UNIT’s IT/AT Liaison. “It’s impossible to predict the full impact of this virus, but at the moment, the number of simultaneous connections has slowed down the overall speed of the internet alarmingly – and that’s just the start of it. The actual file has appalling consequences if successfully downloaded. It’s incredibly malleable – particularly on networks. In the past hour it’s shut down a hospital, three government departments across Europe, and brought the traffic systems in Lisbon to a halt. Please – don’t download pirate material from the internet for the foreseeable future.”